Just Live Forward

With Grace and Grit - Life with Chronic Illness

The Best Advice No One Ever Gave Me

By Leave a Comment

Woman with outstretched arms standing on shore

Living with a serious or life-changing illness forces us to learn to cope with a constant state of uncertainty. I have three crucial pieces of advice. It’s the best advice that no one ever gave me, and I want to share it with you.

I celebrated a pretty big milestone this week. My fifteenth birthday. Technically it’s a “rebirth” day because fifteen years ago I received a stem cell transplant that saved my life and ultimately cured me of an aggressive form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system.

Keep Reading

Emotional Eating – It’s Not Just About the Food

By 2 Comments

Chocolate cupcake with decorative frosting, dusted with crushed nuts

Have you ever heard the expression “eating your emotions”? Emotional eating isn’t simply about what you’re consuming. In fact, it’s more about the reasons why you’re doing it.

I’ve had chocolate cake three days in a row. And more than one piece per day. But it’s not just any chocolate cake. It’s a heavenly marriage of buttercream frosting laced with crushed Oreo cookies thickly slathered between layers of moist cake. Did I mention that it’s crowned with chocolate ganache?

Keep Reading

The Easiest Way to Declutter with Chronic Illness

By Leave a Comment

Woven square basket labeled "donations"; set against a background of greenery

Ready to part with all of the stuff that you don’t need? Don’t make it harder than it needs to be. Here’s the easiest way to declutter when you’re chronically ill.

There are bones on my dining room table. One is a humerus, I think. Or is it a tibia? In either case, they look like clutter to me. But I can’t get rid of them.

Keep Reading

A Simple Plan for Decluttering with Chronic Illness

By 2 Comments

White flowers next to notebook with pastel watercolor floral design and silver pen

Are you overwhelmed by all of your stuff? Are you ready to simplify and get your house in order? If you’re not sure where to start, I have what you need: a simple plan for decluttering.

I’d be lying if I said I own too much stuff. Because the truth is that it owns me. Our stuff is like that, isn’t it? We allow it – we actually invite it – into our homes. And we coexist quite happily until we just don’t need each other anymore. But like a bad relationship that we just can’t bring ourselves to end, we hang onto it.

Keep Reading

Four Big Mistakes that Chronically Ill People Make

By 1 Comment

Close up photo of a dictionary entry with the word mistake and its definition

Our lives are fraught with missteps and mistakes. Here are a few of the big mistakes that chronically ill people make.

I’m stuck. You probably know the feeling – the ongoing sense of being completely trapped at worst, or at best, feeling suspended in a state of inertia. I’m not moving backward but I’m sure as hell not moving forward.

Keep Reading

How to Stop the Sabotage of Negative Self-Talk

By 4 Comments

Happy and sad faces drawn on sticky notes, representing the concept of human emotions.

Living with a chronic illness can predispose us to negative self-talk. It can be hard to prevent our limitations – real and perceived – from changing how we see and value ourselves.

I don’t know anyone who claims to be immune to the potential ravages of negative self-talk. We all do it – although not necessarily to the same degree. Self-doubt, self-loathing, self-consciousness, self-deprecation – I could go on. But I’m guessing you know exactly what I’m talking about.

Keep Reading

The Pitfalls of Prednisone: Surviving the Side Effects

By 6 Comments

Eastern Chipmunk standing on a mossy log with its cheek pouches full of food

It’s widely prescribed and can be wonderfully effective. But the side effects can be wicked. Here are some tips for surviving the side effects of prednisone.

Have you ever taken prednisone? If you have a chronic illness or autoimmune disease that is inflammatory in nature – as so many are – you probably have. And taking prednisone is like balancing precariously on a double-edged sword somewhere between gratitude and madness.

Keep Reading